I took on my plot early this year, & put my beans near what is probably the edge of the plot (usual overgrown, hard to tell, next plot more scrap metal than a French military unit etc...). Chappie next door had a B&Q trolley (full of leaf compost under a carpet) on the path between us & I thought he'd move it at some point to get a barrow between his plot & my beans.
Instead he appears to be cutting across my plot & has trashed my best sweet peppers, the first ones that set & knocked off some branches....
Grrrr...
Anyway, I've left him a note asking him to be more careful. Not sure what else I can do. He's had a warning before about his mess (allotment society would rather he wasn't there) & we have almost no security (a rotten wooden fence) so I don't want to contribute to him leaving as it could get worse. So I don't think I can complain to the sec...
Any other ideas?
I feel slightly better for sounding off on here. Thanks for listening guys...
Can you get your council allotment man/ woman to measure and mark your plot boundaries? Ours is good like that... or if that idea just makes you laugh, perhaps the allotment society sec may be able to help.
Once your boundaries are formally 'approved', you could perhaps set up a post-and-wire fence down the edge of the plot and grow stuff up it...
Good luck with it, Ollie.
remember the GW allotment prog with the site inspector and his tape measure trying to tell the old guy where the boundaries were ?
i'd be livid if anything of mine was trashed due to someone's "shortcut".
some people can just be so inconsiderate.
get a roll of scene of crime tape and make an obvious but not dangerous barrier.
and stand there with a double barrel shotgun and look menacing.
;D
I'd be inclined to dig a great big pit, cover it with grass and hope he and his barrow fall in it!
Seriously, get to know where your boundary is, put a fence up and grow thorny blackberries along it!
If you're not allowed a fence, try an edge made of gravel board down the boundary. It may only be 8 or 10 inches high, but it would still be a pain to wheel a barrow over.
I'm aiming to do this down the side of my plot to stop the strimmer damage that inevitably occurs when they tidy up the grass track to the side of it.
Very inconsiderate >:(
Good ideas here - pricky things and gravel board ::)
My ancient lottie neighbour has built a real shanty town on his plot. It was easier for him to walk over my new plot and slip through a gap in the party fence to gain access to his plot, than to negotiate his own (lethal) anti-vandal barriers!
I planted three rows of globe artichokes right across the gap earlier this year, mulched lavishly and often with piles of raw kitchen waste. Seems to have done the trick, he's stopped using the short cut ;)
You have my sympathies.
There's two ways out of this: get the boundaries clarified, build a permanent fence (be it post and wire, a "fence" proper, row of pallettes etc.) Take cuttings/root stock of prickly, useful plants in readiness for planting a barrier deterrant.
The other option is to do the can't beat 'em so join 'em approach: make the gap between your plots one of your paths. This will mean less chance (if any) of any negative atmosphere etc from your neighbour and the knowledge that he won't be trampling all your plants because of his laziness.
Many thanks for the replies... I met him today and received a very sheepish apology. He is a nice chap, and I feel sorry for him having already had a warning about his mess (I think he probably already feels got-at, even if they're right!).
I think I'll construct something for a blackberry along the boundary too, just to avoid confusion in future (also, that's the east side of the plot so the most logical place to put something. And, of course, I can put the pit with spikes & Guard-Lion underneath ;D